I have a 2008 MacBook Pro 5,1. I can't upgrade the OS anymore and, when the time comes to replace this machine, I really didn't want to shell out close to four grand for a new laptop. Plus, I have a CCNA exam coming up and GNS3 runs way better under Linux than under MacOS. So, I took the plunge and, after a fair bit of blood, sweat, tears, and distro-hopping (including FreeBSD - great for servers, not so much for desktops), my oldie-but-goodie laptop is now a Mint-only box.

Let me tell you, Mint with XFCE has breathed new life into this old girl. As many people have found, MacOS is getting less and less about Just Works and more and more about nagware, spyware, and other assorted nastiness. The aforementioned GNS3 would cause my Mac to hard freeze, but I've had no problems with Mint even when running several Dynamips routers and a dozen or so IOU switches each with Etherchannel, funky spanning tree settings, and a whole host of other things.

The last time I was a Linux rebel was in 2003. Back then, I had to recompile the whole effing kernel to watch a DVD when I had a woman over (which can be a bit of a rarity for a geek). Now, pretty much all of that stuff Just Works.

The only remaining issue is the touchpad. I'd like to disable two-finger right click and use Ctrl-Tap for right clicking like I did on the Mac. This way, I can't accidentally right click or scroll when I don't want to.